LB 18-167 - NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is for all ecologists!

NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is a visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometer, operating on the International Space Station. EMIT was designed to identify surface minerals in Earth’s arid, dust source regions of the planet. These data are helping climate researchers improve their understanding of how dust impacts radiative forcing when it is blown into the atmosphere. EMIT successfully launched on July 14, 2022 and on July 27 saw its first light. As of April 2023, EMIT has measured more than 20,000 scenes across six continents and a wide set of Earth environments. While the focus of the EMIT science team has been on dust source regions, VSWIR data has an incredible range of uses for ecologists including the ability to map vegetation health and traits, identify vegetation community types and species, locate harmful algal blooms, identify soil mineralogy in agricultural fields, locate benthic communities, and more. Here, we share examples of how the diversity of EMIT data acquisitions across the planet enables ecological investigations that leverage the spectral signatures of Earth’s ecosystems. We are excited to highlight the utility of these data for the ecology community to expand local and landscape studies, facilitated by the National Ecological Observatory Network and AVIRIS programs, to regional and cross-continental investigations. Ultimately, with the planned launch of the Surface Biology and Geology mission this decade, EMIT provides a valuable opportunity to build the ecology community's capacity to leverage these data to answer important environmental questions at the global scale.